Wrench



April 17, 1934. P. P. BOUCHE 1,954,914

WRENCH Filed May 23, 1933 9 Paul P. .3014 cbe Patented Apr. 17, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE My invention relates generally to hand tools having adjustable jaws, such as wrenches, clamps, and the like, which jaws are adjustable by means of a screw member, and an important object of 5 my invention is to provide means in a device of this kind for yieldingly holding the screw means in the position to which it may be adjusted, the

said means being effective for holding the adjustment without looking or wedging against easy and quick operation for changing the adjustment of the jaws.

It is also an important object of my invention to provide in a wrench or the like, adjustment holding means of the character referred to which is simple and easily manufactured, and which is reliable and simple in action. 7

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description in connection with the drawing, wherein for purposes of illustration I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawing:-

Figure 1 is an elevational view of one side of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through a portion of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is another longitudinal sectional view through Figure 1 and taken approximately on the line 3--3 and looking in the direction of the 0 arrows.

Figure 4 is an elevational view of the face of the holding member.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 5 refers generally to a conventional type 5 of adjustable end wrench having the handled stationary jaw member 6 and the adjustable sliding jaw member 7.

In conventional wrenches of this type the lower edge of the adjustable jaw 7 is provided with 0 straight out notches to cooperate with spiral threads on a rotatable screw barrel which is rotatably supported on a screw and located in an opening in the stationary jaw member 6. I

change the form of the notches on the lower edge 5 of the adjustment jaw and make the sides thereof oppositely beveled as indicated by the numeral 8 and I provide the screw barrel 9 with spiral threads 10 whose side walls are parallel as indicated at 11, both walls leading in one direction 0 as indicated. The screw barrel 9 is rotatably mounted on the screw 12 which traverses the opening 13 in the stationary jaw member in an obvious manner.

Instead of the screw barrel having a plain right hand end, it is given according to my invention a concentric recess 14 in which seats a portion of a light helical spring 15 which is circumposed on the screw 12 and acts between the floor of the recess 14 and the adjacent side of the opening 13, so as to urge the screw barrel 9 normally toward the left.

According to my invention, the left hand end 19 of the screw 9 is not plain as it usually is, but it is provided with radially arranged grooves of generally semi-circular cross section as indicated in Figure 1. The grooves are designated 17, while the resultant ribs therebetween are designated 18. It will be observed that the resultant ribs 18 are rounded, and that the grooves 17 are arranged in diametrical alignment.

The left hand wall 19 of the opening 13 is provided with a vertical projection 20 which is beveled on either side and provided with a rounded' portion 21 at its apex for cooperation with the grooves 17 and to ridg easily over the rounded ribs 18 between the grooves 17.

It will be obvious that the spring 15 acts not only to force the screw threads 11 against the sides of thevnotches in the lower edge of the adjustable jaw, but also engage the grooves 17 with the beveled projection 21 so that the screw barrel 9 is prevented from turning out of its position of adjustment, unless the screw barrel be forced bodily toward the right against the tension of the spring 15 to disengage the grooves 17 from the projection 20. So disengaged the screw barrel may be freely rotated to adjust the adjustable jaw 7. As soon as the forced position of the screw barrel is relaxed by releasing the screw barrel, the spring 15 will reengage a pair of the grooves 17 with the projection 20 and yieldingly hold the screw barrel against turning from its adjusted position.

Although I have shown and described herein a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be definitely understood that I do not desire to limit the application of the invention thereto, and any change or changes may be made in material and structure and arrangement of parts, within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the subjoined claim.

What is claimed is:-

A wrench comprising a head including a stationary jaw, a movable jaw carried by said head and having a portion exposed in an opening formed in said head, said portion being provided with notches, a shaft mounted across and in said opening and rotatably and slidably carrying a worm having a thread engaging said notches for feeding said movable jaw when said worm is romeans interposed between the inner end of the Worm and the adjacent side of said opening for causing said angular edge to bite into said remaining outer side of the notches so as to frictionally hold said worm against rotation.

PAUL P. BOUCHE. 

